Apparatus for making paper-covered wood veneer



R. N. WARE, JR, ETAL 2,844,174

July 22, 195s I APPARATUS FOR MAKING PAPER-COVERED WOOD VENEER 5sheets-sheet 1 Filed J\I`11y 7, 1954 E, Je.

July 22, 1 958 RN. WARE, JR, ETAL' v APPARATUS Foa MAKING PAPER-COVEREDwoop VENEER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July '7, 1954 ./z/E 27 fr-f E.flaw/veo A. Me; rfe

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, July 22, 1958 RQ N. WARE, JR., EVAL APPARATUS FOR MAKING PAPER-COVEREDwoon VENEER Filed July 7, 1954 F VR L l l i l l "l1 s 'rr l l L l l 1 1l l July 22, 1958 RN. WARE, JR., ETAI- 2,844,174

` APPARATUS FOR MAKING PAPER-COVERED woon VENEER Filed July 7, 1954 y 5Sheets-Sheet 4 [271/5127 ZDF E Pfc/Meo!!! Mee, c/e. E56/AML o CANA/@NJuly 22, 1958 R. N. WARE, JR., ETAL '2,844,174

APPARATUS FOR MAKING PAPER-COVERED WOOD VENEER Filed July '7, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 5 FZFETZZDFE .Blew/92D V. me@ Je,

E56/M440 14A/Iva# United States Patent if@ APPARATUS FOR MAKINGPAPER-COVERED WOD VENEER Richard N. Ware, Jr., and Reginald Cannon,Tallulah, La., assignors to Chicago Mill and Lumber Company, Chicago,Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application July 7,v 1954, Serial No.441,708

11 Claims. (Cl. 144-279) This invention relates to a machine adapted forthe continuous production of paper-covered wood veneer, and includesapparatus for making the veneer at intermittent rates best suited forveneer production, together with apparatus for continuously papercovering the veneer thus produced without the necessity for unitingseparate veneer pieces.

Specifically, this invention deals with a machine which willintermittently produce wet or green wood veneer at high speeds coupledwith a laminator which will continuously unite the wet veneer thusproduced with paper covers to hold the wood in its expanded wetcondition even when dried, all under the control of an operator who canso regulate the feed of the veneer into the laminator as to butt togtherseparated pieces of veneer to produce a continuous paper-covered woodveneer product.

Heretofore, it was deemed necessary to unite veneer pieces as bystitching or stapling, in order to produce a continuous ribbon of veneerfor feeding into a paper laminating machine. The machine of the presentinvention now avoids the heretofore troublesome and expensiverequirement for uniting the veneer pieces, since it provides for theproduction and delivery 'of wet Veneer sheets at rates best suited forveneer production, and then uses these wet veneer sheets to producepaper-covered veneer at rates best suited for lamination of the veneerwith the paper. A single operator at the feed end -of the laminatingportion of the machine controls the movement of the veneer from theveneer-forming portion of the machine, so as to feed successiveveneer`pieces in butted together end-to-end relation, without everinterfering with the production of the veneer pieces. The machine isarranged so that the motive power for feeding the constituent elementsof the product is applied by pulling the assembled constituents to keepthem taut l and stretched while applying pressure, thereby preventingseparation of the butted together veneer pieces.

According to the invention wet green logs are preferably immersed for 24to 36 hours in water heated to 14C-212 F. This treatment softens thewood and especially the knots to facilitate veneer peeling. The hotsoftened logs are peeled in a lathe to form veneer ribbons. Trim andother waste is separated from the ribbons and a tipple then feeds thesound ribbon pieces to the decks of a multi-deck conveyor storage unit.The hot ribbons will lose moisture in this unit due to surfaceevaporation but will not dry below 30% moisture so that the wood remainsin its fully expanded condition. The ribbons are then successivelydischarged from the storage decks onto a feed conveyor which is operatedlat variable controlled speeds to bring the veneer pieces into buttedtogether relation. A laminator receives the resulting continuous veneerribbon and applies continuous sheets of kraft paper to the oppositefaces of the ribbon. The paper is moistened, stretched and coated withsoya bean glue before being pressed onto the veneer. Pulling andpressure mechanism laminates the assembly Patented `luly 22, 1958 wood.The assembly is then cut into panel lengths, the

panels are stacked and pressed to atten out high spots. The press can beoperated to exert pressures of about 50 pounds per square inch on thepanels and the press time need only be long enough to increase the gluebond in the uneven wood areas so that these wood parts will not springback to form an uneven panel. The panels are then dried to a moisturecontent of about 6 to 12% and the glue bonds with the paper will controlshrinkageof the wood. The resulting wood core of the panel will have aneven open network of cells and will be free froml gaps and splits causedby grainbundle shrinkage.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a machine adaptedfor the continuous production of laminated wood and paper products,while still utilizing a veneer lathe which only intermittently producesthe veneer constituent of the lamina-ted product.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine for producingpaper-covered wood veneer without requiring the wood constituent thereofto be stitched or stapled together for forming a continuous ribbon.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a high-speedmachine fory forming paper-covered wood, which is controlled by a singleoperator to feed wood veneer ribbons in butted together end-to-endrelation been assembled, whereby discontinuous wood pieces can be usedin a continuously operating machine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a machine whichdiscards waste constituents before they are assembled into a laminatedproduct.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of theannexed sheets of drawings which, by way of a preferred example only,illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figures l, 2, and 3, are diagrammatic side elevational views ofsuccessive portions of the machine of this invention.

Figure 4 is a wiring diagram of the drive control for the varioussections of the machine.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view illustrating the manner inwhich successive veneer ribbons are aligned in butted together relation,as they are fed into the laminating section of the machine.

Figure 6 is a broken fragmentary plan view of the drive or pull rollsection of the laminator.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the control of thewaste material from the lathe in the feed of the wood veneer material tothe deck tray portion of the machine.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the drive Figure l1 is aview similar to Figure l0.but showing,

the press platform in elevated position.

Figure l2 is a fragmentary plan view of the unloading. end of themachine showing a platform truck or wagon under a stack of panelsproduced by the machine.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view along the lineXIII-XIII of Figure 3.

Figure 14 is a horizontal cross-sectional view along the line XIV- XIVof Figure 13.

As shown on the drawings:

The machine ^of Figures 1 to 3 includes a veneer forming section 11, aveneer delivery section 12, a veneer storage section 13, a veneertrimming and feeding section 14, a laminating section 1S, a main drivesection 16, a panel forming section 17, a delivery section 18, and i" apress section 19.

The veneer forming section 11 includes a peeler lathe 20, With a logdriving spindle 21, driven from an electric motor 22 through belts, suchas 23. The conventional knife 24 peels the log L carried by the spindle21 to 4form the veneer ribbon R. While the length of the ribbon R isinherently limited by its thickness and by the diam eter of the log L,the length is more commonly and frequently limited by the inherentlypoor cross-grain tensile properties of the thin veneer ribbon. Thus theribbon R peeled from a single log typically fractures across the widthof the ribbon and with the grain of the wood so as to produce aplurality of consecutive ribbons from each individual log. Thus thelathe naturally breaks the ribbon into a series of ribbons. Of course,the hand may also be used to part the continuously produced ribbon intoa plurality of sections by a slight blow. Accordingly, no provision isnecessary for cutting the ribbon into sections. The ribbon R isdeposited on conveyor belts 25 to be fed to a tipple 26.. providedbetween the conveyor 25 and the tipple 26. A trash discharge trough 28is provided beneath the gap 27 and a discharge conveyor 29 is providedin the trough 28 to remove the waste material. The bark and other wastefrom the conveyor 25 is allowed to drop through the gap 27 into thetrough 28. When the lathe 20 delivers a good veneer ribbon, the latheattendant trips a bridge 30 to span the gap 27 and cause the conveyor 25to deliver the ribbon to the tipple 26. The bridge 30, as best shown inFigure 7, is only wide enough to support the main body of the veneerribbon so that the trim waste T. W. from the conveyor 25 will bedeposited in the trough 28 beyond the edges of the bridge. As isconventional, the lathe 20 has the trim knives (not shown) whichseparate the trim waste from the main veneer sheet.

The tipple 26 is pivoted about its lower end so that its upper end willselectively feed any one of the superimposed conveyors 31, 32, 33, or 34in the veneer storage section 13. It will be appreciated that anysuitable number of superimposed conveyors can be provided. Each conveyorhas a trip switch 35 associated therewith, near the discharge endthereof. This switch is adapted to be depressed whenever veneer ribbon Ris passed thereover on the conveyor, for' a purpose to be hereinaftermore fully described.

One of the conveyors such as the bottom conveyor 31 preferably has aclipper 36 associated therewith at about the middle section thereof.This clipper is controlled by an operator to remove imperfect sectionsfrom veneer pieces fed to the conveyor 31 by the tipple 26, so thatthese pieces will have good side 'edges adapted to be closely buttedtogether. The conveyor 31 is generally utilized to receive only veryshort veneer ribbons which have to be separately handled from the longerribbons.

Waste from the clipper 36 is discharged to a trough 37. Veneer ribbonsfrom the section 13 are discharged over skids 38 into section 14 of themachine, to be deposited on top of a conveyor 39, which feeds the ribbonto a clipper 40, for finishing the leading and trailing ends of theribbons to provide edges that can be closely butted together. Trim wastefrom this clipper 40 is deposited in a discharge trough 41, and thetrimmed ribbons are Vthen fed from the clipper 4t) to a conveyor 42,which moves them into the inlet feed to the laminator section 15. Itwill be appreciated that previously trimmed short A gap designated at 27is.

4 veneer ribbons from the clipper 36 need not be further trimmed at theclipper 4) and these trimmed pieces will be fed from the conveyor 39 tothe conveyor 42 without operation of the clipper 40.

The laminator 15 includes a pair of superimposed unreeling stands 43 and44respectively supporting rolls of paper P1 and P2 to deliver the bottomand top covers of paper to the laminator section 15.

Paper webs P1 and P2 from the unreeling stands are fed to tension rollassemblies 45, each consisting of a large diameter center tension roll46 and a pair of adjacent small diameter rolls 47. The paper is fedunderone of the rolls 47, thence around the top of the iarge diameter roll 46and thence under the other roll 47. The large diameter roll 46 isequipped with a brake 48, which will hold the paper fed from theassembly under the desired tension. The rolls 47 provide proper contactof the paper with the braked. roll 46.

The paper web P1 is discharged upwardly from the second roll 47 to aguide roll 49 to pass thereover en route to a reversing roll 50. Therolls 49 and 50 are separated a considerable distance 'to provide astraight paper run, which will smooth out wrinkles in the paper. Thepaper web P1 is reversed in direction around roll 50 and passes under aguide roll 51 to the top of a coater roll 52 operating in a pan 53. Thepan is supplied with an aqueous solution or emulsion to moisten the weband cause it to expand. The coating material can include suitabledisinfectants, mold preventives, surface finishing materials, or thelike. The coating roll 52 is preferably knurled to deposit the coatingmaterial in desired quantities on the paper web. After passage over theroll 52, the moistened coated paper travels around a large diameterreturn roll 54, which will smooth out any wrinkles developed by theexpansion of the paper from the moistening operation. The paper is thenfed from the underside of the large diameter roll 54 over a small guideroll 55 and thence over an adhesive applying roll 56 of an adhesiveapplicator 57. The applicator 57 includes a pan 58 supplied with heatedadhesive such as soya bean glue. The amount of adhesive fed to the paperweb P1 is controlled by a doctor roll 59 on the ascending side of theapplicator roll 56. The roll 56 is preferably driven at a speed fasterthan the speed of travel of the web P1, but does not have any effect indriving the web, since the web is held under tension and slippagebetween the roll and the web is developed to better coat the paper 'andsmooth out the coating material.

A guide roll 60 acts on the top of the coated web after it leaves theapplicator roll 56 to hold the paper down on the roll. The paper thenpasses around a reversing roll 61, to emerge over the top thereof andpresent its coated face along an upper run receiving the veneer ribbonfrom the conveyor 42.

The paper web P2 from the top tension roll assembly 45, like the web P1,is moistened by a knurled coating roll 62 operating in the pan 63 toapply the same coating material as the roll 52 and thereby moisteningthe paper. A guide roll 64 receives the paper web P2 thereunder to guideit to the coating .roll 62. A roller 65 mounted on pivoted arms togravity oat on the web P2, receives the paper web thereunder after ithas been moistened by the roll 62.V This roller 65 is supported by thepaper to have a loading eiect thereon for ironing 'out wrinkles thatmight have developed due to the moistening of the paper. Roll 65 thusacts as a tension roll.

The paper from roll 65 has an elongated run to a supporting roll 66 andthen passes under a guide roll 67 enroute to the applicator' roll 68 ofa second adhesive coater 69. The roll 68 has a pan 70 along thedescending side thereof to supply heated adhesive to the web P2 in thesame manner it is supplied from the pan 58 to the coater 57. However, adoctor roll 71 beneath the pan 71) is driven in a clockwise directionopposite to the directionof the applicator roll 68. The doctor rolltherefore wipes the coating on the applicator roll in an` upwarddirection so as not to pull down excess coating material from the pan70. loll 68 like roll 56is driven at a faster speed than the speed ofthe paper web P2, so as to produce a better and smootherk adhesivecoating. on the top face of the web.

Heated coating material to both coaters 57 and 69 is supplied from anoverhead tank 72. The glue formula is prepared from a hot mixture and ifnecessary, either or both of the coating pans 58 and 70 can be equippedwith heating coils to maintain the desired temperature for the glue.

After passage under the roll 68, the paper web P2 is guided over the topof roll 73 which causes the paper web P2 to lap a considerable portionof the roll 63. From the roll 73, the paper web P2 travels around areversing roll 74 to positionits coated face in spaced relation abovethe top coated face of paper web P1. It will be noted that the roll 74is offset from the roll 61 so that the paper web P1 will have a rununcovered by the web P2 in advance of the roll 74. This uncovered runpermitsthe operator to inspect the end-to-end abutment and the linearalignment of successive veneer ribbons R deposited on the web P1 fromthe conveyor 42,. As indicated inl Figure 5 the conveyor 42 driven bymotor 132 can be operated at a desired speed and guides 42a on the sidesof the conveyor hold the veneer pieces in linear align-ment.

The coated paper Webs from their respective reversing rolls 61 and 74,together with the veneer ribbon there? between are next passed between apair of rubber-covered pressure rolls 75. These rolls are rigid metalrolls covered with a coating of a medium soft rubber. The coating ispreferably about an inch thick so that the twol rolls can cooperate informing a rm yet yieldable nip which will tightly press the paper webagainst the interposed veneer ribbon, thereby ejecting all air frombetween paper sheets and the veneer. At the same time, the rubber willyield so 4as to force the paper down into cavities and imperfections inthe wood veneer. These rolls insure the lamination of the paper and thewood.

The laminated assembly after passage. between the rolls 75 is fedbetween two pairs of threading rolls 7-6 and 77. ln normal operation ofthe machine, theseV rolls are spaced apart so as to merely serve asguide, rolls for the assembly. These rolls, however, are used to threadnew lengths of paper into the machine when first starting the machine.

The assembly of paper and wood then passes over a. large number of smalldiameter support rolls 78,A so as to provide a horizontal run ofappreciable length between` the press rolls 75 and the first set ofdriving rolls or pulling rolls 79, preferably including three sets inclosely spaced relation in the section 16 of the machine. These drivingrolls 79 are rigid metal rollers providing horizontal pres. sure nipswhich tightly gripthe assembly. The toprollers of each pair are springloaded to create a desiredpressure nip sufficient to prevent slippagebetween the rolls and assembly. The top and bottom rolls of each pair ofrolls 79 are geared together by meshing gears 80, so as to rotate inuni-son without a slippage therebetween.

As shown in Figures 2 and 6, one of the bottom rolls is driven from amotor driven variable speed drive gear box 81 through a sprocket chain82 and a second sprocket on this roll in turn drives a second chain 83which drives the next adjacent bottom roll. A third chain 84 connectssprockets on the middle set of rolls with lthe rst roll assembly todrive the bottom roll of this first assembly. In this manner all threesets of driven rolls are driven in unison.

After passage through the last set of pull rolls 79 the assembly is fedthrough a flying shears type of clipper 85 and then between a pair ofrigid metal tension rolls 86, which are geared together by a set ofgears 87 and are driven through a sprocket chain 8S from the third setof pull rolls 79. The driving ratio is such that the tension rolls 86are driven at a speed in excess ofthe rolls 79 to thereby hold theassembly being clipped in a tensioned or taut condition. The rolls 86will slip on the paper covers of the assembly.

A high-speed conveyor S9 follows the tension rolls 86 to receive theassembly therefrom. This yconveyor 89 is driven at a higher speed thanthe rate of travel of the assembly by means of a motor 90 (Figure 3)driving a chain 91, which in turn, drives a sprocket shaft 92, havingthe belts of the conveyor 89 trained therearound. The conveyor 89 has atrip switch 93 suspended thereabove to be actuated by the leading edgeof the paper and wood ribbon. The switch will actuate thek clipper S5 toseparate a panel board P. B. of desired length from the leading end ofthe ribbon assembly. The cut-olic panel board will be moved away fromthe new leading edge of the ribbon assembly by the high-speed conveyor89, which will thus open up a gap between the trailing end of thecut-off panel board and the new leading edge of the ribbon assembly,permitting the switch 93 to return to its normal position whereby it canbe tripped by the new leading edge of the ribbon assembly to againactuate the clipper.

A tipple 94 driven from the sprocket shaft 92 receives the panel boardsfrom the conveyor 89 and is equipped with a stop or holding mechanism 95adjacent to its delivery end. This stop mechanism is composed of a rockshaft 96 extending across the width of the table and equipped with a rowof fingers 97 extending between the belts of the tipple. A handle 98 onthe end of the rock shaft is adapted to be swung to position the fingersfor forming stops holding the panel boards on the tipple as illustratedin solid lines. When it is desired to discharge the panel boards off theassembly the fingers are retracted below at the upper run of theconveyor belts of the tipple as shown in dotted lines.

A pair of laterally spaced chain racesy or tracks 99 eX- tend under thetipple 94 and forwardly therefrom a considerable distance to supportendless conveyor chains 100 therearound as shown in the detail of Figure9. Loading boards or pallets 101 are supported on the chains 100 to spanthe tracks and receive the panel boards P. B. from the tipple 94.

Sockets 102 (Figures 3 tnd 13) are carried on chains 103 trained aroundsprockets 104 on the inner faces of the rails 99. These sockets 102removably support upright stacking guide arms 105 against which thepanel boards P. B. are abutted in stacked relation on the pallets 101.The chains 103 are operated by a hand wheel 106 so as to position thesockets 102 in the desired spaced relation from the delivery end of thetipple 94 to accom-V modate panel boards of different sizes.

When a stack of panel boards is being formed against the guides 105while supported on the pallets or boards 101, the fingers 97 on thetipple will, of course, be in their depressed position. During thisstacking operation a new set of boards or pallets can be mounted on thechains 100 under the tipple for delivery when needed. When a stack ofthe desired height or weight is delivered against the guide arms 105,the fingers 97v are moved to form the abutment stops and hold the groupof panels on the tipple. The guide arms 105 are then removed from theirsockets 102 and the chains 100 are driven from a motor 107 through achain 108 engaging a sprocket 109 on a sprocket shaft engaging thechains.

The stack of panel boards P. B. is transferred to a second set of chains110 having an upper run in the tracks or races 99 near the ends thereofand through channels 111 of the press assembly 19. At the same time thenewly deposited boards or pallets 101 on the chains 100 are movedadjacent the sockets 102. The guide arms 105 are then replaced in thesockets to form stops for the boards. The rock shaft 96 is thereuponactuated to depress the fingers 97 and allow the accumulated panelboards P. B. to be delivered from the tipple 94 for forming a new stack.The completed stack on the chains 110 is advanced, by driving the chainsfrom a motor 112, into a press 113, having a fixed top platen 114 and amovable bottom platen 115. The movable platen 115 is actuated by ahydraulic ram 116. The chains 110 are held taut by a weight 110a whichaccommodates movement of the upper runs to the dotted line position whenthe press is closed.

The platen 115 has a pair of grooves 117 extending longitudinally fromthe receiving to the discharge ends of the platen and these groovescarry the channels 111. The upper runs of the chains 110 ride in thechannels 111 in the same manner as in the rails 99. As shown, in Figures3, 10 and ll, the channels 111 project beyond the inlet and outlet endsof the platen 115 and when the platen 4is lowered, the projectingends ofthe channels will rest on blocks 118 to raise chains 110 slightly aboutthe top face of the platen 115, whereupon the chains will support theload on the platen. When the platen is raised by the rarn 116, thechannels 111 will drop into'the bottoms of the platen grooves 117 tospace the chains beneath the top face of the platen whereby the platenwill carry the load free of the chains.

The stack of nished panel boards P. B. is compressed between the platens115 and 114 to insure a perfect bond between the paper and the wood bytightly squeezing the assemblies together. The press eliminates any highspots caused by knots or the like in the panels and the stack of panelsis held in the press for a suticient length of time, such as 3 to 5minutes, for setting the adhesive sufciently to bond the paper to thewood so that uneven wood parts cannot spring back to form an irregularpanel.

After the pressing operation, the ram 116 is lowered to allow the platen115 to be moved downwardly to the level of the rails 99 on both sides ofthe press, whereupon channels 111 in the platen will be raised by theblocks 118 to transfer the load of the stack to the chains 110. Themotor 112 is then actuated to drive the chains removing the stack ontothe discharge side of the press where stationary tracks or rails 119similarto the tracks 99 receive the upper runs of the chains. Since thetracks 119 at this discharge side of the press are open-ended, aconveyor truck T can be moved between the tracks and under the pressboards 101 or pallets to receive the stack from the chains as shown inFigure 12. The truck T has a table t on hydraulic jacks l. When thejacks are lowered the table t is below the levels of .the tracks 119 tot freely under the boards 101. When the jacks raise the table, theboards 101 and the stacks of panels P. B. thereon will be lifted abovethe tracks and olic of the chains 110. The truck then moves the stack toanother location for feeding the panel boards into a dryer.

From the above description it will be seen that laminator section 15 ofthe machine can be operated continuously. However, since the veneerforming section 11 and the press section 19 must be intermittentlyoperated due to the necessity for supplying logs in succession to thelathe or peeler 20 and batch pressing operation in the press 19, thisinvention provides a drive control for the continuous and intermittentlyoperating portions of the machine, which will insure continuousoperation of the laminating section of the machine.

For this purpose, as shown in Figure 1, the spindle shaft 21 of thelathe 20 drives a chain 120 which in turn drives an input shaft 121 of aspeed changer gear box 122. This gear box 122 then drives the conveyor25 and the tipple 26. In addition, the gear box drives an elongatedchain 123 extending to the offgoingrend of the veneer storage section13. At this end, the chain 123 is trained over guide sprockets 124 andthence around sprockets 125 on each of the conveyor belt assemblies 31to 34. An electrically operated clutch is interposed between eachsprocket 125 and the sprocket shaft driven thereby, so that the conveyorbelts are selectively driven only when the clutches are engaged.

The opposite ends of the sprocket shafts of each of the conveyorassemblies 31 to 34 are equipped with additional drive sprockets 126 asshown in Figure 8. A second endless chain 127 is trained around thesesprockets 126 and around idler sprockets 128. A second gear box 129 hasthe input shaft thereto driven by an electric motor 130 and the output131 of the gear box drives the chain 127. Electric clutches are alsointerposed betweerr each of the sprockets 126 vand respective sprocketshafts.

The conveyors 39 and 42 on opposite sides of the clipper 40 are drivenfrom an electric motor 132 through sprockets chains 133 and 134respectively.

The conveyor 39 preferably has a plurality of air nozzles 39A dispersedabove the upper run thereof to direct streams of air across the face ofthe veneer being fed for removing loose trash therefrom.

As best shown in Figure 4, a control panel 135 at the operators stationon the inlet end of the laminator section 15 of the machine contains anumber of pushbuttons which not only regulate the speed of operation ofthe laminator, but also control the feed of the veneer to the laminatorfrom the superimposed conveyor section 13. This panel 135 has ahigh-speed control button 136, a lowspeed control button 137, and a stopbutton 138, for the motor 81 which drives the pull rolls 79 to controlthe operation of the laminator.

The motor 132 which controls the feed of the veneer into the laminatoron the conveyor 42, also has a highspeed control button 139, aslow-speed control button 140, and a stop button 141 on the panel 135.

The out-feed motor 130 for the conveyor stack 13 likewise is controlledfrom the panel 135 through high-speed button 142, a slow-speed button143, and a stop button 144. l

The panel 135 has a separate button to control each of the conveyors 31to 34 in the section 13 of the machine. These buttons have beenidentified as numbers 1 to 4 inclusive, with the number 1 button tocontrol the bottom conveyor and the number 4 to control the topconveyor. As indicated, these buttons are in circuit with an interlockedrelay, including relays 145 and 146. Relay 145 is in circuit with thefour clutches 126 controlling the selective motor drive from the motor130 to respective conveyors, while relay 146 is in circuit with theclutches 125 controlling the drive from the chain 123 to the conveyors.

The relays are interlocked so that when a clutch 125 for a conveyor isengaged, the corresponding clutch 126 for that clutch is disengaged andvice versa. The coils in relays 145 and 146 are energized by 110 voltsA. C. and the contacts are at 6 volts D. C. for operation of the D. C.clutches 125 and 126.

The tipple 26, as best shown in Figure 4, is counterbalanced by a weight147 on a chain 148 trained around two pulleys 149 in spaced horizontalrelation to define a horizontal run of the chain therebetween. A dog 150is mounted on this horizontal run of the chain to successively engageswitches 31a, 32a, 33a, and 34a for the superimposed conveyors 3'1 to 34respectively. One of the sprockets 149 is driven through a reversingdrive from a motor 151 to raise and lower the tipple. When the dog 150engages a switch 31A to 34A, the engaged switch closes the circuitthrough the relay to energize the corresponding clutch 125 for drivingthe conveyor from the chain 123. At the same time, a light 152 on thepanel 135 will be lit opposite the'switch l to 4 to indicate that theparticular conveyor is receiving veneer from the tipple. The veneer willadvance on the conveyor until it depresses the heretofore identifiedtrip switch 35, whereupon a circuit will be closed to light a warninglight 153 on a panel adjacent to the operators station for the tipple 26to thereby indicate to the operator that the particular conveyor iscompletely loaded, whereupon the tipple will be shifted to feed theveneer ribbon to an unloaded conveyor.

When a control button 1 to 4 on the panel 135 is operated to energize aclutch 126 for feeding veneer out of the conveyor stack an indicatinglgi'ht 154 is also lit on the tipple operators panel to show that theparticular conveyor is being unloaded. This prevents re-loading of aconveyor until it is completely unloaded.

It will thus be understood that the machine can be completely controlledfrom the laminator operators station 135 and that the veneer formingportion of the machine can be run to load the storage section 13 underintermittent operation at speeds best suited for veneer making.

In operation, when the laminator operator must bring ribbons of veneertogether in abutted relation, he need only speed up the motor 132 todrive the conveyor 42 at a higher rate for-closing the gap between thesuccessive veneer ribbons. Ordinarily this conveyor will pull the ribbonout of the conveyor stack at the high rate of speed without speeding upthe particular conveyor which is feeding the ribbon. However, if it isnecessary to bring the succeeding ribbon out of the conveyor stack at ahigh rate, the operator need then only depress the high-speed button 142for speeding up the outfeed motor 130.

At the discharge tipple 94 for the panel boards P. B., the holdingdevice 95 permits continuous operation of the laminator section 15 whilethe completed stack is moved out of the way for the batch pressingoperation.

From the above descriptions, it should be understood that the machine ofthis invention is adapted to continually produce a continuous laminatedpaper and wood product and to successively deliver size panels of thisproduct at a pre-scheduled rate while receiving the wood portion of theproduct from an intermittentlyoperating section of the machine whichproduces the veneer at a desired rate. Simplified controls eliminate theheretofore required stitching or stapling together of the wood veneer bybringing successive veneer ribbons into buttedrelation to be held inposition by the paper covers for producing the continuous ribbon of thefinished product.

As used in the claims, the terms continual and continually refer tooperation and movement without interruption during a substantiallyinfinite time-period of operation; the terms continuous and continuouslyrefer to the longitudinal dimension of the material as being unbrokenfor substantially an infinite distance.

It will be understood that variations and modifications may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of thisinvention.

We claim as our invention:

l. In a machine for producing paper-covered wood veneer panels, theimprovement of a press for pressing the panels when directlysuperimposed on each other as a single stack, said press having a pairof laterally spaced grooved tracks extending therethrough; a conveyorchain in each ofthe track grooves of said tracks and supported thereby,and adapted to support a stack of panels; and said press having a bottomplaten grooved in alignment with the grooves of the tracks, channels insaid grooves of the bottom platen extending beyond the ends of theplaten, supports for the extending ends of said channels to raise thechannels when the platen is in open position, said channels receivingsaid chains therethrough to be carried at levels below the active faceof the platen when the press is closed and to be carried at levels abovethe face of the platen when the press is open, and chain tensioningmechanism accommodating movement of the press between open and closedpositions while holding the upper runsof the chains in a taut conditionin said grooves.

2. In a machine for continually producing paper-covered wood veneer, amultiple deck veneer storage unit having a plurality of superimposedconveyors, shafts at adjacent ends of the conveyors for driving theconveyors, clutches at both ends of each of said shafts, means drivin gthe clutches at one end of the shafts for intermittently loading each ofthe conveyors, a first motor independent of said means, said motordrivingly connected to the clutches at the other ends of the shafts forintermittently unloading each of the conveyors, a feed conveyor forreceiving veneer ribbons from the storage unit conveyors, a second motorfor driving said feed conveyor, and control means for operating theclutches and the feed conveyor motor to control the discharge of veneerribbons from the storage unit onto the feed conveyor and to regulate thepositions of successive veneer ribbons on the feed conveyor 3. In amachine for continually producing paper-covered wood veneer, theimprovement which comprises a multiple deck veneer conveyor storageunit, a tipple for supplying individual veneer ribbons to the conveyordecks of the storage unit, a feed conveyor for transferring veneerribbons from the storage unit, mechanism for raising and lowering saidtipple, mechanism controlled by said raising and lowering mechanism toselectively actuate a conveyor level with the discharge end of thetipple to move veneer ribbon into the storage unit, cutoff switchesactuated by the leading ends of veneer ribbons in the storage unit forstopping the respective storage unit conveyors, control mechanism fordischarging veneer ribbons from the conveyor decks of the storage unitonto the feed conveyor and for regulating the speed of the feed conveyorfor feeding from the feed conveyor, and indicating mechanism at thetipple for designating the decks of the storage unit being unloaded topreclude feeding of veneer ribbons thereto.

4. In a machine for continually producing paper-covered wood veneer fromveneer ribbons, glue and webs of paper, the improvement which comprisesa multiple deck veneer ribbon storage unit having superimposedconveyors, trip switches associated with each conveyor for stopping theconveyor when engaged by the veneer ribbon, a tipple for feedingindividual veneer ribbons to the various superimposed conveyors in thestorage unit, mechanism controlled by said tipple for driving theconveyor level with the discharge end of the tipple, a feedV mechanismfor transferring individual veneer ribbons from the storage unit, andmeans Operating the feed mechanism to discharge Veneer ribbons from thestorage unit.

5. In a machine for continually producing paper-covered wood veneer, aconveyor for transferring veneer ribbons from a source thereof, a tipplein spaced veneer receiving relation from said conveyor, the dischargeend of said conveyor and the inlet end of said tipple cooperating todefine a gap therebetween, a trough beneath said gap, a trash dischargeconveyor in said trough, a rock shaft extending across said gap andhaving fingers at spaced intervals thereon adapted to span the gap,means for rotating said rock shaft to move the lingers for opening thegap whereby veneer from the conveyor will drop into the trough, and saidfingers lying within the width of the veneer ribbon to accommodatecontinuous discharge of trimmed wood veneer edges into the troughregardless of the position of the fingers.

6. In a machine for producing paper-covered wood veneer, a veneerstorage unit, a plurality of superimposed veneer ribbon supportingconveyors in said unit, first control means at the inlet end of saidlunit for regulating the feed of veneer ribbon into the unit,selectively onto any one of said conveyors, second control meansindependent of said first control means and disposed `at the dischargeend of the unit for selectively regulating any single one of saidconveyors to discharge veneer ribbon therefrom, and mechanism preventingoperation of both said control means with respect to the same conveyorat the same time.

' 7. In a machine for continually producing paper-covered wood veneer,the improvement comprising: a multiconveyor wood veneer storage unit, afeed conveyor eX- tending from the conveyors of the storage unit, afirst motor arranged to intermittently drive the storage unit conveyorsone at a time to discharge veneer into said feed conveyor, asecond-motor for driving the feed conveyor at a variable speed, andcontrol means manually operable from a position adjacent said feedIconveyor for operating said second motor at selected variable speeds sothat successive veneer ribbons from the storage unit are broughttogether in abutted end-to-end relation for feeding a single continuousveneer ribbon from the feed conveyor.

8. In a machine for continually making paper-covered wood veneer, theimprovement comprising a multi-conveyor veneer storage unit; a feedingconveyor operatively extending from said unit; a separate electric motorfor driving the conveyors of the storage unit, and the feeding conveyor;and control means manually operable from a position at the outlet end ofthe feeding conveyor, said means including speed regulating controls foreach of said motors such that an operator observing the outlet end ofthe feeding conveyor can regulate the two motors to discharge from thefeeding conveyor continually while feeding individual successive woodveneer ribbons from individual conveyors of the storage unit.

9. In a machine for continually making paper-covered wood veneer, theimprovement of means for supplying veneer ribbons in a continuous mannerto a laminator, said means comprising in combination: a motor-drivenveneer source of individual veneer ribbons; `a storage unit having amultiplicity of superimposed conveyors for storing ribbons flatwiseindividually; each conveyor of said unit having a drive shaft with apair of individually selectably engageable clutches associatedtherewith; a conveyor tipple intermediate said source and said storageunit; means drivably connecting said source to said tipple and to thedriving side of one of each of said pairs of storage unit clutches foreffecting receiving and storing of individual veneer ribbons from saidsource; an additional independent source of power, operable atselectable variable speeds, drivably connected to the driving side ofthe other of said storage unit clutches for effecting unloading ofindividual veneer ribbons from the storage unit conveyors at the rateneeded by the laminator for continual operation; and means preventingsimultaneous actuation of said pair of clutches ou any single driveshaft.

10. In a machine for continually making paper-covered wood veneer, theimprovement of a storage unit, said unit having a multiplicity ofsuperimposed conveyors for storing Veneer ribbons llatwise individually;each conveyor of said unit having a drive shaft with a pair ofindividually selectably engageable clutches associated therewith; meansdrivably connected to the driving side of one of each of said pairs ofclutches for effecting receiving and storing of individual veneerribbons; additional means, independent of said rst named means, drivablyconnected to the driving side of the other of said clutches foreffecting unloading of individual veneer ribbons from the conveyors; andmeans preventing simultaneous actuation of any pair of said clutches.

11. In :a machine for making paper-covered wood veneer panels, theimprovement of a Adischarge tipple conveyor, a rock shaft mounted onsaid conveyor, lingers on said rock shaft adapted 'to selectively extendabove the conveyor for providing abutment stops for panels on theconveyor and to be depressed below the `conveyor for accommodatingpassage of panels thereover, and a conveyor mechanism under the tipplefor receiving panels in stacked relation from the tipple when said shaftis rocked.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 679,698Johnson July 30, 1901 1,362,849 Christensen Dec. 2l, 1920 1,473,545Collier Nov. 6, 1923 1,646,645 Frederickson Oct. 25, 1927 1,670,657Friede May 22, 1928 1,900,252 Morgan Mar. 7, 1933 2,084,980 Sweeney June22, 1937 2,191,070 Cove Feb. 20, 1940 2,269,816 Gustin Jan. 13, 19422,290,762 Miller July 21, 1942 2,291,650 Robinson Aug. 4, 1942 2,306,178Meany Dec. 22, 1942 2,401,648 Kahn June'4, 1946 2,425,660 Ware Aug. 12,1947 2,442,115 Byers May 25, 1948 2,459,524v Hanson Jan. 18, 19492,627,334 Koppel Feb. 3, 1953 2,637,394 Fey May 5, 1953

